Pig Growth Booster: Increase Sow Litter Size by 20% Naturally

In the process of raising sows, many farmers often feel confused and frustrated because they find that their sows, which have been carefully raised for four months, only give birth to a few piglets at the time of production, while other people's sows can easily give birth to 15-20 piglets. In order to help all pig farmers to solve this problem, today I will share some practical methods to improve the number of sow piglets.

Such as management, including ‘enhancement of light in the pig pen, selection of breeding pigs, daily feeding, breeding techniques, daily management’ and so on. The following will be a detailed analysis of the specific steps in the following introduction to the insights.

Enhance the Light in the Pig House

In the process of raising pigs, light is an indispensable part of the light is the source of the growth of all things, the pig's health and productivity have good benefits. It is as inexpensive as drinking water, but it is found and valued by people in farming. What are the effects of light on sows? And how should it be utilised? Specifically the following introduction:

Light Affect the Reproductive Ability of Sows

According to professional pig farmers, in the pig house management practice found that light on the pig's sexual maturity has a more obvious effect, such as longer light in the pig house, can promote the development of the reproductive system, improve the sexual maturity of sows accelerated. In the presence of natural light, sows reach sexual maturity more than 30 days earlier than some sows that are constantly in the dark, and even up to 45 days earlier.

In addition, the reproductive performance of sows is also closely related to light. In the sows before breeding, and gestation time light intensity, can improve the fertility rate of sows, thus promoting the sows to improve the number of piglets, increase the amount of percolating milk, you can make the birth of the litter more and heavy.

Sow Breeding House Light Design Method

After understanding and mastering the benefits of light, the breeding barn, and just weaned sows or newly transferred reserve sows, should be given priority to enter the area with sufficient light. Using 60-100w white fluorescent lamps, the total light level needs to be at least 210-350lux, but need to pay attention to the light must be illuminated to the area where the sows are located, to ensure that there is sufficient light, it is recommended that the fluorescent lamps are hung in the uppermost ceiling beams of the sows' area.

Sow House Light Design Points

We give sows to improve the light to facilitate sows to improve sexual maturity at the same time, as far as possible to do to save electricity, save labour and work, so it is recommended to install a timed light switch, so that you can achieve the power saving, and will not affect the daily rest of the sows, in order to improve the productivity of the sows, according to the sows in the area of the illuminance (lux) to be measured, so that you can know how to control the duration of the light.

To increase sow productivity, you can make a measurement of the illumination (lux) according to the area of the sows, so that you know how to control the duration of the light, which is different in different barns. In addition, transferring the sows to a well lit area as much as possible will also save electricity, and for the area by the window, it should be done to prevent the sows from catching a cold and to avoid any physical effects on the sows.

Sow Prenatal and Postnatal Care Work

We can improve the farrowing rate, and the number of piglets through the care of sows. Health care before and after farrowing of sows, lactation after farrowing of sows, before and after farrowing of sows should be paid attention to, to ensure the health of sows and piglets can accelerate the growth and improve the breeding efficiency.

Ginger Conditioning

Ginger Conditioning can be 18-22 days before the delivery of sows, 0.5kg ginger minced, boiled soup 2.5 litres or so, before feeding the sows, ginger soup mixed into the feed in 3 times, because the sows in the delivery of 1-2 days in the body of excessive water loss, with bran 0.5kg, 2kg of warm water at 15 ℃, 25-30 grams of salt, stirring evenly fed to the sows, intervals of 5-7 days, 2-3 times in a row. Feed the sows once every 5-7 days, 2-3 times in a row. If it is in the cold season, you need to take measures to increase the temperature in the barn to prevent the sows from getting cold.

Seaweed Lactation

Sows after giving birth, need to be adjusted, available seaweed feeding sows, play the role of increasing the amount of milk. In the first 30 days of the output of the sow, every 7 days with kelp 0.5kg, soaked in water after chopping and adding 100g of animal oil, plus warm water 3.5-4kg boiled soup, to be cooled to feed the sows, to 60 days later, when the peak lactation of the sows have been over, the need for intervals of 4-5 days to feed once, 1-2 times in a row.

Promote the Sow More Ovulation to Improve Sow Litter

Sow Breeding Before Feeding Technology

In the reserve sows before breeding 10-15 days, the sow again before breeding, need to feed the sow more rich in vitamins and protein feed, supplement minerals and trace elements, and in sunny days, the appropriate drive sows to the outside of the house 1-1.5 hours of exercise, let it walk freely, can increase the role of fattening and re-strengthening, to promote the sow at the right time, earlier ovulation and can successfully accept the boar copulation or artificial insemination, to make the sow in the right time, early ovulation and can successfully accept the boar copulation or artificial insemination. It can promote the sows to come into heat at the right time, ovulate earlier and accept boars to mate or artificial sperm.

Weaning of Suckling Piglets at the Right Time

Early weaning of suckling piglets should be done well, which can improve the litter size of sows and the number of piglets in favour. Early weaning time to 3 weeks of age is appropriate, in the feed management conditions of superior pig farms, can be earlier, and breeding conditions in general, should not be later than 6 weeks of age, as far as possible to control the higher quality of feed for feeding, to maintain the most appropriate at 3-4 weeks of age, should not be too late.

Promote Sow Oestrus

Induce sow oestrus: ① sow, boar mixed pen rearing, with the boar release of exogenous hormones, and male and female pigs climb across the stimulus to improve the sow early oestrus.

② Promote sow ovulation: in the morning after feeding the sow, in each row of the sow on both sides of the udder to do before and after the surface massage for 10 minutes, to be the sow in heat, and then changed to the surface massage for 5 minutes, and then gently pinched around the breasts of each, do a deep massage for 5 minutes in the morning of the day you need to give the boar and the sow mating day, a deep massage for 10 minutes, the purpose of making sows ovulate to increase the rate of conception.

③Pharmacological estrus: 1, please ask professionals to help ejaculation, using Chinese and western medicine to promote sows in heat, generally using pregnant blood horse serum. Take pregnant horse serum of 60-120 days of pregnancy and inject it subcutaneously once a day for 2-3 days, the first time 5-10 ml, the second time 10-15 ml, and the third time 15-25 ml. In addition, whole blood of pregnant horses can also be collected temporarily for intramuscular injection, which usually brings sows into heat about 4 days after injection.

Timely Breeding for Sows:

① the age of the first mating, usually the age of the first mating of small sows, varieties around the birth of 6-8 months of age, body weight of more than 50 kg, the introduction of varieties for the birth of 8-10 months of age, body weight of more than 90 kg mainly.

② Breeding time: Generally, the suitable breeding time is between 20-30 hours after the start of the sow's oestrus. If you press the sow's back with your hand and the sow stays motionless, you can conclude that it is in heat, and then you can carry out the breeding work. Sow breeding time is affected by age, middle-aged sows are trained on the 2nd day after oestrus, and small sows need to be bred on the 3rd day after oestrus.

Generally, the principle is ‘old with early, small with late, not old, not small with the middle’, because different sows age, breeding is not the right time is very difficult to achieve the expected results, need to make the right breeding to ensure that the sow more piglets and piglets of the health rate. There are differences in breeding time for different breeds, 2-3 days after oestrus for sows of different breeds, the first day after oestrus for cultivated breeds, and the second to the third day after oestrus for hybrid breeds before noon.

Mating method

③ A sow in first lactation can be mated with a boar for 2-3 times, with an interval of 8-24 hours between the two times. In this way, during the whole ovulation period of the sow, the oviducts can keep the sperms with vigour, so that the ovaries can discharge the eggs successively, and the sows can get the probability of insemination.

④ General commercial meat pig, can take double matching method, that is, the sow in an oestrus period, with two boars successively to take turns to match, the interval of 15 minutes each accompanied by 1 time, generally this method can make the sow more piglets, the conception rate is high, and the late piglets, piglets with strong life.

(Tip: To prevent embryonic death or abortion of gestating sows from occurring, you need to feed nutritious full-price feeds to the sows on a daily basis, and do not feed cold feeds or cold water, including mouldy vegetables and other undesirable feeds, which are not used. In addition, to prevent sows from infectious diseases or parasitic diseases, mainly in the diet more attention, do not feed some unclean objects, and secondly, do not make sows cold, in the control of the temperature in the pig pen is appropriate, to improve the rate of sows stable foetus, to prevent the occurrence of abortion!)

Comprehensive Feeding Techniques to Increase the Litter Size of Sows

Elected Good Sows

small sows should be fine selection of sows from the offspring of high-yield sows, choose healthy, proportionate body, nipple arrangement, nipples have 14-16 and docile piglets as the object of cultivation, ear shape, back and waist straight, abdominal and not dragging the ground of the sows to do breeding, when the body weight of 85 kg, and then select the fast-growing, well-developed As a breeding pig, daily reasonable feeding, to the sows in heat, timely breeding, so that the rate of piglets is high, and piglets are also healthy.

Mastering the Age of Sows at the First Mating and the Method of Using Years

The age of sows at the first mating should not be too early, too early will affect the physical development of the sows, and low farrowing rate and unhealthy piglets after farrowing. Generally, local sows can be mated at the age of 6-7 months with the body weight of 60kg or above, and the introduced breeds can be mated at the age of 8-10 months with the body weight of 100-120kg, and the sows should be eliminated after 5-7 years of utilisation, and then select and cultivate new sows again.

Arranging Good Time for Breeding

The first mating of sows should be carried out in April-May; farrowing in August-September; mating in September-October, farrowing in January-February of the next year, and mating again in February-March, farrowing in June-July. Through reasonable arrangement of mating time, it is favourable for sows to reproduce roughly at a high rate of viability and farrowing in the suitable season, which is conducive to the health of piglets, and the management of the staffs is relatively convenient.

Reasonable Control of Fat

before breeding sows, the fat should be controlled at 7-8% fat, this method of breeding has a high fertility rate, a large number of piglets, and the piglets are relatively healthy.

Short-term Quality Feeding

Before breeding sows, in 10-15 days appropriate increase in sow diet feeding, can stimulate sow ovulation, to achieve the purpose of more piglets; mating should be promptly reduced to the normal level, and feed more vitamin A-rich high-quality feed, in the success of the mating, and then control the reasonable feed, to prevent sows from being too obese.

Selection Method of Boars and Sows

The principle of matching excellent boars with excellent sows, or with relatively high quality general sows. In terms of age, the boar with the age of light sows, the age of light sows and with the age of slightly larger boars, while the strong age of the boar should be matched with the strong age of the sow, so that it will not hurt the sow, and the conception rate is high, the number of piglets is high.

Increase the Ovulation of Sows and Improve the Conception Rate of Sows

In the process of oestrus of sows, intramuscular injection of 500-1000 international units of pregnant horse serum and gonadotropin can improve the ovulation of sows and improve the conception rate of sows as well as the number of litters.

Sow Pre-pregnancy Feeding Management

The feeding management of sow pregnancy should be strengthened: before the sow is pregnant, it is necessary to feed feed rich in protein, vitamin, and add some vegetables to provide diversified feed in order to meet the nutritional needs of the sows, so that the sows are in good health.

Secondly, it is necessary to arrange the sows to be raised in a circle alone in advance to prevent the sows and other pigs from competing with each other for food, which will lead to abortion after the sows move a lot; after the sows are pregnant for 60 days, increase the concentrate appropriately, reduce the roughage in time and make up for calcium and phosphorus, and cut down the material appropriately before giving birth to prevent the sows from being too obese.

In addition, the effective feeding method to make sows produce more piglets: it should be from the third day of piglet weaning, whenever the sows are fed, 200 ml of vitamin E can be added, 350-400 mg of carrots, and when the sows are in heat, the amount of the above two additives can be reduced by half, and fed to the end of 20 days after the pregnancy. Such a feeding method can increase the number of piglets by about 21%, and the sows are strong, with a high conception rate, and after farrowing, the piglets have a high survival rate.

By implementing scientific approaches—including optimized lighting, precision breeding, enhanced nutrition, and proper health management—along with the high-efficiency reproductive supplement Pig Feed Premix, you can significantly improve sow productivity:

✅ Stimulates estrus & ovulation, boosting conception rates
✅ Increases litter size (2-4 more piglets per farrowing)
✅ Reduces weak/aborted fetuses, ensuring healthier piglets
✅ Extends sow reproductive lifespan, lowering production costs

Take Action Now: Apply this systematic approach in your next breeding cycle, combined with Pig Feed Premix, to effortlessly achieve 30+ weaned piglets per sow annually—maximizing your farm’s profitability!